The Importance of Interviewers

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The Campaign That Helps Save Lives

Are you starting to get an idea about how the data you gather can make an important difference? For an even clearer picture, let's consider the example of how information about a vitamin can prevent neural tube defects.

Neural tube defects are birth defects that result when a baby's brain or spinal cord doesn't develop correctly. The neural tube, which grows into the baby's brain, spinal cord and the tissues that surround them, is one of the first things to develop once a woman is pregnant. The tube must close during development to protect the delicate neural tissue. If it doesn't close properly, it causes conditions known as anencephaly or spina bifida. Babies born with these defects either die shortly after birth or they suffer a range of problems throughout their lives.

Neural tube defects are one of the most common reasons a child is born with a birth defect, occurring in one or two of every 1,000 births. Several years ago, scientists discovered that folic acid, a B-vitamin, could prevent 50% to 70% of these defects. That's great news, but there was a problem: it required women to start taking folic acid before they became pregnant. You see, the neural tube begins forming before a woman even misses her period, and is completely formed 28 days after conception. That's before many women realize they're pregnant, and taking folic acid after 28 days won't have any effect on the neural tube. The challenge is: How do you educate such a huge audience—more than 61 million women are of childbearing age in the United States—and how do you create a meaningful message for all of them?

This is where interviewers enter the picture.

The Importance of Interviewers

15 of 19

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This page last reviewed December 16, 2008

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services
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